Sliding into Fall

Hello!  Anybody out there?  I've been absent from the blog for so long that I wonder if I have any readers left.  LOL  I've still been reading blogs each day; I just can't seem to find the time to write my own posts.  I guess that means I've been busy living life, right?

I last left off with an ice cream post.  Guess that's bit outdated now that the cooler temps have moved in!  Ah, the lazy, warm days of summer....the season ended on a high note, though with the addition of this little munchkin!

Meet Spooky!  I found this little fur ball living under my parents neighbours deck with her Mom.  Over the course of a week or so MY Mom noticed that HER Mom wasn't coming around too much anymore and with the nights becoming cooler and cooler, she took her into the back porch.  Thus started a life of luxury for the little miss as my parents soon decided she was way too cute to go to the local shelter and gave her a forever home.

We all just lover her to bits!  I mean, just LOOK at that face!  :)

Before long school started, the days became shorter, Noah's soccer season ended...

And the hockey season (which Jason is coaching this year) started....

And cross country came and went.....

Sarah decided not to run this year; she's involved in volleyball and dance, however Noah finished 6th out of 105 kids running for our city's school districts!  ROCK STAR!

We went on a road trip to Kingston this past weekend for a hockey tournament.  It's about a 3-3.5hr drive east of where I live.  The further east we got, the prettier the leaves!

Even though the boys played 5 games in 3 days, some of us parents managed to spend a solid 3 hours touring around downtown Kingston.  The skies were overcast, but the temps were comfortable enough.  It's beautiful along the water;

 A few more....with people this time!  :)

 Some of the buildings are just gorgeous, but I somehow managed to only get a photo of one!

As for the hockey part....the boys played phenomenal!  They were in first place going into the semi's and lost in a heartbreaker.  It was tied 1-1 after 5 mins of overtime and they ended up losing in a shoot out.  It was an extremely exciting, yet stressful game!  Noah won "Player of the Game" for the first game they played.  He was quite proud!

Not sure why the is sideways, but you get the idea, right?!  One of the best things about the weekend is that we got to spend time with family that lives up in that area.  Jason's Aunt, Uncle, cousin and her family all came to watch the 2 games played on Saturday AND we had enough time in between to out out for dinner!  It was so, so nice to see them!  Here's Sarah with her cuz:

I'll leave you with a few goodies I brought back with me...

Can't wait t try this 100% maple syrup jelly mixed with some Dijon and slathered on some salmon!  My mouth is watering already!

Bye for now!!

Back in Action...

Oh my goodness friends, it's been a while!  When I posted last Noah was home sick with the flu.  That stuck with the poor kid for 2 days.  Then Sarah got it, then I got it.  UGH.....fun times were NOT had!  We all seem to be back on track now, though.  Needless to say, my meal plan pretty much went out the window last week. So did hockey games, dance class and Zumba.  Eeek!  Looking through the photos on my camera I seem to have some from last week and all from the week before so this will be a bit of a hodge podge post.  So 2 weeks past the plan looked like this:

Turkey sausage, sautéed red peppers, green beans and millet.....

Roasted turkey breast, peas, polenta ans some smoky peach chipotle dipping sauce......

Lasagna, for the fam.  I had eggs on toast with mortadella.....

Thursday was pork chops, corn and basmati rice.....

And Friday was baked salmon fillets with broccoli and quinoa...

Pretty good week!  I've got to admit, I don't eat pork chops much and Thursday's dinner reminded me why.  I just don't like them!!  Guess I thought I'd give them another shot, but I won't be eating them again any time soon.

I don't even remember what last week was suppose to look like!  Here's what I got pictures of:

Noah had an out of town hockey game on Tuesday and I always try to get some sort of pasta into him before a game.  This is brown rice pasta which is always what I prepare for myself.

Whoa....dark photo!  This was Wednesday's dinner, which we ate late.  Well, 7pm is late for us!  We were out for this again...

 ....but over my lunch hour I put chicken thighs, sliced mushrooms, 2 chopped red bell peppers and a can of tomato sauce in the crock pot on low.  When we got back the kids ate theirs over leftover pasta while Jason and I had ours over quinoa.  It tasted SO much better than it looks!  I'm certain we had turkey sausage again on Thursday, but there doesn't seem to be any photo evidence!  Friday we decided to go out to dinner, but my camera was sitting pretty on the dining room table.  DOH!

I got some cool mail last week, too!  First up we have some Method dish and hand soap:

I haven't tried either yet, but I can't wait to get them started.  Method is one of my favourite brands of hand soap and I'm eager to try the dish soap.  These have seasonal scents, too!  Frosted Fir and Candy Cane!   Thank You, Method!!!  I also received my FREE Gevalia coffee for our Tassimo.

Somehow I managed to get to their Facebook Page before supplies were out! Too bad I'm blogging from Blogger right now and can't figure out how to rotate this picture!!!  Anyhow, this coffee is STRONG, but good.  I'll definitely buy more when I run out.

So, I think that's all I've got for now.  As always, you can check my meal plan out on my Facebook Page.....What's your favourite meal been this past month?  Or is it something that you will be eating over Thanksgiving?

Bye for now!!

Weekend Update

Hi everybody!!  I hope you all enjoyed the post written by my guest blogger last week….thanks to Danae for sharing her story!  I also hope you enjoyed learning a bit more about me.  I love posting little questionnaire’s from time to time!  Some of you mentioned that you had some difficulty reading that post in Google Reader; my apologies.  Ever since I frigged up my layout I’ve been having some issues.  Oh, to be tech savvy right about now!
So the weekend was a success where my little man’s sporting events were concerned!  His hockey team made it to the semi finals in their tournament.  They played 2 games on Friday, 2 games on Saturday and one on Sunday.  The most exciting though was his soccer team WINNING the league finals on Saturday morning! They played like rock stars and were awarded a 5-2 win which earned them the spot of best in South Western Ontario for their age group.  I’ve truly enjoyed every minute of his soccer season.  The boys on the team are some of the best kids ever, the parents are all so friendly and easy going and the coaches are some of the most dedicated I’ve ever seen.   Just such a pleasure to be a part of it all.  Soccer is done now for a month, and then they will start practicing indoors mid October so a wee bit of a break there.
On the food front I’ve been really concentrating on making “stick to your rib” meals to keep us warm in the chill of fall, but more importantly to ensure that the kids are getting proper nutrition to keep them healthy and strong with school and extra activities all starting this month.  Not to mention the inevitable illnesses that come with the beginning of school.  Hello cold season!  Here are a few of the dinners we’ve been enjoying;
Poached Sole Fillets with Dilled Rice This was easy and quick.  I simply chopped and cooked 4 slices of bacon until crisp, then drained the drippings out of the pot.  Next I added a 19oz can of diced tomatoes with green pepper & onions, one crushed garlic clove, chilli powder, s & p.  Once the sauce was boiling I added sole fillets, turned down the heat, covered and cooked for 10 minutes.  While that was doing its thing I made a quick pot of Minute brown rice infused with 1 tbsp of fresh dill. Voila!!!
Roasted Turkey Thighs with Cheesy Polenta
Tuesday was a free night so I knew I would have time to make a more time consuming dinner.  Or maybe I should say one that takes longer to cook.  After arranging 4 turkey thighs in an 8x8 baking dish I treated them to an EVOO-BBQ spice rub massage.  I covered them up with foil and popped them in a 350* oven for 45 mins, then another 15 uncovered.  Now the fun part; sit on couch and watch Jamie Oliver’s new show!  I got started on the polenta after the thighs were out of the oven “resting”.  The polenta is super easy; simply bring 2 cups of liquid of your choice to a boil.  I used water this time.  Turn down heat and slowly whish in a ½ cup of dry polenta (cornmeal).  Once smooth you can start using a spoon/spatula.  Stir, stir, stir because it comes together lickety split!  When it’s thick, stir in a ½ cup each of cheese of your choice to equal one cup.  I used parmesan and goat’s Gouda with chillies.  Serve immediately.  As you can see from the picture, we had some baby peas, aw well.
Tonight’s dinner was requested by Noah; pasta.  The kid could live off this meal, I swear it!  HAHA!!
My sauce is always slightly different; sometimes is ground poultry, other times extra lean ground beef.  I can even get all fancy pants and use bison!  But it ALWAYS starts with chopped onion, carrot, celery and garlic.  You will also always find dried basil, oregano and the tiniest bit of nutmeg.  I also use straight tomato sauce; not ready to go jarred sauce.   For tonight I wanted to sneak an extra veggie boost into the sauce so I grated a small zucchini and added it after sautéing the beef.  The kids never realize when I do this because the veggies “melt” into the sauce if grated.  The fam had WW fusili, I used rice fusili for my own which is what you see in the above picture.
I haven’t bothered taking many lunch photos because most times it’s leftovers from the night before.  I did, however, snap a few yummy breakfast ones. 

This French toast was prepared with some homemade gluten free bread.  I won’t link to/share the recipe because clearly bread and I do not get along and although this was edible, it was FAR from the greatness I was hoping for.  Hence the “French Toast” disguise!  I topped it off simply with some blueberry/Meyer lemon jam that we purchased at the St. Lawrence Market.

Mmmm…pancakes!  I made these using a gluten free mix.  Again, not the best BUT!!!  While watching Diners, Drive Ins and Dives one night I saw a chef add homemade granola to his pancake recipe.  Brilliant!  So I added a ¼ cup of granola to my batter which did wonders for the overall taste and texture.  Try it out…you’ll love it!
Whelp!  The new season of Criminal Minds starts in a few so I’m off to tuck under a blanket, sip a cuppa tea and watch the show!  Enjoy your evening, friends!
Bye for now!!

It’s About to Get Crazy!

The temps around here have become much cooler and the skies dreary since September arrived.  I’m just not a fan.  Summer with all its heat and sun is definitely more my style.  September also brought this with it: Yes, hockey season is upon us again.  Noah was so pumped to be back on the ice.  His enthusiasm for the game makes sitting in cold rinks doable.  His soccer season will officially wrap up on September 17, although they will still practice indoors each Sunday from October to January.  Sarah’s dance classes start back up tonight, as well.  She’ll be dancing the winter away doing hip hop, jazz and modern…..so 2 nights a week.  What does all this mean?  That things will be getting crazy around here again very soon!  In anticipation I spent the long weekend mostly in the kitchen preparing freezer friendly meal starters.  The crockpot was put to use making homemade chicken stock (from bones I save throughout the summer from our many beer butt chickens) and pulled pork (frozen minus the sauce).  I also made a BIG pot of homemade marinara sauce and some roasted peppers.  The peppers are a cinch for me because I have a gas stove so I just use the stainless steel BBQ tongs and hold the peppers over the flame until they char.    Then I place them in a bowl and cover with a lid for about 5 mins. The skin peels off like a dream using this method!! 
I either freeze them as is or with some chopped garlic and olive oil.  YUM!  I also tried a new (gluten free) granola recipe that’s just awesome! This one is bursting with chocolate peanut buttery goodness!
I particularly like it sprinkled over vanilla ice cream or mixed with Greek yogurt  :)
Last night Noah’s hockey team got together to do a biathlon which they raised money for to put towards the team’s budget.  The boys had to run 1km (2.5 times around the track) and bike for 2km (5 times around).  Here are a few pictures I took…
I wanted to run with him but was told a very firm “NO!!”  HAHA!  I’ve been doing OK with this gluten free business that I’m trying out.  I learned pretty fast to make sure I have snacks packed if we’re going to be out for a bit or things can get tricky.  I’m sure there’s still some gluten sneaking into what I eat, but the main culprits have definitely been eliminated.  And I’m quite certain that the gluten police won’t be showing up any time soon.  Overall I have been feeling better; my tummy is upset less often and the bloating has almost disappeared.   It’s only been a month or so but these little changes are enough to keep me going.  Here are a few examples of meals I’ve been enjoying: Buckwheat bread with almond butter and blueberry jam. The Canadian Maple Forest is my favourite flavour yet! Brown rice spiral pasta. Pork chop, basmati rice with homemade marinara sauce. Grilled salmon with zucchini and tomatoes. Kettle corn is one of my favourite snacks!  Truth be told, I’m not much for “regular” popcorn, but kettle corn is a whole different story!  :)
So. I’m sure you’ve noticed that my blog looks different.  Yeah….that was an accident and I’m not too happy with it!  :(  I was fiddling around with templates and and for some reason hit the “apply to blog” button.  I’m definitely not techy enough to figure out how to get my old look back, though.  BOO!  C’est la vie, I suppose!
Have you ever changed something with the look of your blog that you weren’t happy with??
Bye for now!!